The world has a few wonders, sites of such importance and beauty that they have become famous around the world and throughout history. There are a handful of man-made structures that have become more than just architecture. They are iconographic; they represent a time, a place, or an ideology. For example, think of the Statue of Liberty. I know what it looks like, but I also know what it stands for. It evokes images of immigrants and hope. In short, it represents the American Dream. What about the Eiffel Tower? It is a Parisian landmark, but more than that it represents romance. People anywhere in the world can recognize pictures of the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids.
Stonehenge is one of these landmarks. And I only live a short drive away from it.
The first thing that impressed me about Stonehenge is its age. Stonehenge is approximately 5,000 years old. It was built 3,000 years before Christ was born! I almost can’t fathom that type of age. Landscapes have drastically changed; entire civilizations have been formed, flourished, and disappeared; languages have developed and died; generations and generations of families have lived; all these things have happened in the time that Stonehenge has stood there.
What was the purpose of Stonehenge? There is much debate over this question. We do know that an almost unbelievable amount of time and effort went into constructing it. Remember that it was built during the stone age. The people were using relatively primitive tools and doing all of the labour by hand. The structure is huge; each stone weighs tonnes. Although Stonehenge is the best known, many of these types of structures have been discovered. It is oriented to align with the rising and setting of the sun. To me, the only believable purpose is as a place of worship. For numerous examples of the exact same design of structure to have survived for this long (ones built of wood have also been excavated), they must have been hugely significant to the people who created them.
When I first visited, it was at the end of the day and the site was almost deserted. [That is, in itself, unusual. During the summer it is a popular tourist destination and can be very crowded.] As I approached the stones, one almost had the sense of walking on hallowed ground. I am not a new-age spiritualist or a druid; I have no intention of actually worshipping there. Yet I couldn’t help feeling that the site was a spiritual space for people at some point. What, other than faith, could have motivated them to build such a structure?
Although I have heard Stonehenge dismissively described as “a pile of rocks,” it is, in fact, beautiful. It is an impressive addition to the pastoral landscape. Sheep still graze only a few yards away from it, and apart from the one road driving by it, the landscape is mostly the same as it would have been when it was first built. The symmetry and design of it is beautiful. It is not just a monument to an ancient civilization; it is art.
Stonehenge is owned and managed by English Heritage. Admission is free for English Heritage members (it is well worth joining if you live in England); for non-members it costs £6.30 (family and other discounts are available). Membership is also free to National Trust members, and the National Trust owns 1,500 acres of land surrounding Stonehenge.
If you ever have the chance, go see Stonehenge. You won’t be disappointed. If nothing else, the next time you see a picture of it in a book or on tv, you can smugly smile at the person with you and say “I’ve been there.”
